Jim Holden
Time to go for Joachim Low
Joachim Low has stayed on too long as Germany coach, a reality confirmed beyond any doubt when his team lost 6-0 to Spain in the Nations League.
He is suffering from a problem granted to only a few exceptional managers – the longer they defy common sense and deny the inevitable, the more agonising it becomes for fans, players and themselves.
The most compelling example is Arsene Wenger. He was an outstanding manager for longer than anyone could expect at Arsenal. That didn’t prevent his last two years becoming a torment as the home crowd turned on a hero. Wenger resisted; his pride, ego and obsession blinding him to reality.
Another contrary example is Jurgen Klopp. He was brilliant at Borussia Dortmund for six years before a final few months of torment. He had the wisdom, self-awareness and humility to walk away of his own volition.
Perhaps this is a matter of time. Klopp had not been at Dortmund long enough to be fooled into believing he should remain forever. Low has been in charge of Germany for 14 years – 189 international matches – with a magnificent win rate just over 63 per cent. He won the World Cup in 2014 and reached the final of Euro 2008.
His longevity matches that of Helmut Schon (1964-78), but no other major national team coach comes near in modern times. Sir Alf Ramsey spent 11 years with England – 113 matches and one World Cup triumph. Vicente del Bosque had eight years with Spain – 114 games and a World Cup win. Italy’s Enzo Bearzot lasted nine years – 88 games as another World Cup winner.
Low is defying logic as he tries to defy a cavalry charge of critics. He pretends the problem does not exist.
“I’m always open to constructive criticism,” he said at the World Cup qualifying draw. “But we are sticking to our plan. There is no need to make drastic changes. We are absolutely convinced of the road we have taken.”
Low spoke knowing he had been given strong support by his employers at the DFB after the 6-0 thrashing by Spain, despite a hostile public mood. Loyalty is usually to be admired in this sporting world bedevilled by so much short-term thinking. But not always.
The crisis for the German national team is not just about poor results and slipping down the FIFA rankings. More pertinent is that domestic TV ratings have plummeted for games. There was also a sceptical reaction to a move by the DFB to promote the side as “Die Mannschaft”; a term used more by foreigners than within Germany itself.
It was designed to create the sense of a new beginning after the disaster of the 2018 World Cup. It would have been wiser just to change the coach.
Low’s response was to shake up his team; axing experienced players like Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng and trusting in youth. This was a reasonable decision, but it caused controversy with the insensitive way it was handled. It also had to work, to be backed up by results. Instead, there was that crushing 6-0 defeat. Even this could not make Low resign.
The DFB are equally culpable for keeping him. It’s not as if Germany is bereft of high-class coaches – Klopp, Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann and Hansi Flick can all be considered among Europe’s elite caching talents.
A new narrative is now popular in Germany following the recent success of Bayern Munich. It says that the national team flourished at a time when Flick was Low’s unheralded assistant, and the Bayern coach was the real brains of the outfit. True? Only the pair of them will know.
What is certainly true is that Bayern Munich continue to have success despite changing coaches frequently. Even if the DFB cannot tempt Flick to be the next coach of Germany, the example of Bayern’s renewal following a decisive change of leadership is surely the one for them to follow.
A new narrative is now popular in Germany… the national team flourished at a time when Flick was Low’s unheralded assistant, and the Bayern coach was the real brains of the outfit